Update route hint selection to prefer lowest channel above minimum

This commit updates the way that we choose our preferred channel per
counterparty when selecting route hints. Previously, we would choose
the largest usable channel above our requested minimum.

This change updates selection to prefer the smallest channel above the
minimum amount (if provided, plus a scaling factor of 10% to allow
some margin for error). This is the off chain version of not "grinding
our change" - we want to supply route hints for channels that have
enough inbound to facilitate the receive, but not overload our high
inbound channels with smaller payments (since we may need this large
chunk of inbound for larger payment later on).

If there is no minimum amount provided, we err on the side of caution
and just select our highest inbound channels so that payments of any
size have a chance of succeeding. Likewise, if we have no channels above
the minimum, we select the largest channel to maximize our changes of
receiving the payment in multiple parts.

Author: freddiekrugerrand

lightning-invoice/src/utils.rs

@@ -509,7 +509,11 @@ fn _create_invoice_from_channelmanager_and_duration_since_epoch_with_payment_has
 ///
 /// The filtering is based on the following criteria:
 /// * Only one channel per counterparty node
-/// * Always select the channel with the highest inbound capacity per counterparty node
+/// * If the counterparty has a channel that is above the `min_inbound_capacity_msat` + 10% scaling
+///   factor (to allow some margin for change in inbound), select the channel with the lowest
+///   inbound capacity that is above this threshold.
+/// * If no `min_inbound_capacity_msat` is specified, or the counterparty has no channels above the
+///   minimum + 10% scaling factor, select the channel with the highest inbound capacity per counterparty.
 /// * Prefer channels with capacity at least `min_inbound_capacity_msat` and where the channel
 ///   `is_usable` (i.e. the peer is connected).
 /// * If any public channel exists, only public [`RouteHint`]s will be returned.
@@ -570,12 +574,17 @@ fn filter_channels<L: Deref>(
 				// If this channel is public and the previous channel is not, ensure we replace the
 				// previous channel to avoid announcing non-public channels.
 				let new_now_public = channel.is_public && !entry.get().is_public;
+				// Decide whether we prefer the currently selected channel with the node to the new one,
+				// based on their inbound capacity. A scaling factor of 10% to pad our minimum inbound
+				// capacity to make this decision.
+				let prefer_current = prefer_current_channel(min_inbound_capacity_msat, current_max_capacity,
+					channel.inbound_capacity_msat);
 				// If the public-ness of the channel has not changed (in which case simply defer to
-				// `new_now_public), and this channel has a greater capacity, prefer to announce
-				// this channel.
-				let new_higher_capacity = channel.is_public == entry.get().is_public &&
-					channel.inbound_capacity_msat > current_max_capacity;
-				if new_now_public || new_higher_capacity {
+				// `new_now_public), and this channel has more desirable inbound than the incumbent,
+				// prefer to announce this channel.
+				let new_channel_preferable = channel.is_public == entry.get().is_public && !prefer_current;
+
+				if new_now_public || new_channel_preferable {
 					log_trace!(logger,
 						"Preferring counterparty {} channel {} (SCID {:?}, {} msats) over {} (SCID {:?}, {} msats) for invoice route hints",
 						log_pubkey!(channel.counterparty.node_id),
@@ -658,6 +667,41 @@ fn filter_channels<L: Deref>(
 		.collect::<Vec<RouteHint>>()
 }
 
+/// prefer_current_channel chooses a channel to use for route hints between a currently selected and candidate
+/// channel based on the inbound capacity of each channel and the minimum inbound capacity requested for the hints,
+/// returning true if the current channel should be preferred over the candidate channel.
+/// * If no minimum amount is requested, the channel with the most inbound is chosen to maximize the chances that a
+///   payment of any size will succeed.
+/// * If we have channels with inbound above our minimum requested inbound (plus a 10% scaling factor, expressed as a
+///   percentage)
+///   then we choose the lowest inbound channel with above this amount. If we have sufficient inbound channels, we don't
+///   want to deplete our larger channels with small payments (the off-chain version of "grinding our change").
+/// * If no channel above our minimum amount exists, then we just prefer the channel with the most inbound to give
+///   payments the best chance of succeeding in multiple parts.
+fn prefer_current_channel(min_inbound_capacity_msat: Option<u64>, current_channel: u64,
+	candidate_channel: u64) -> bool {
+
+	// If no min amount is given for the hints, err of the side of caution and choose the largest channel inbound to
+	// maximize chances of any payment succeeding.
+	if min_inbound_capacity_msat.is_none() {
+		return current_channel > candidate_channel
+	}
+
+	let scaled_min_inbound = min_inbound_capacity_msat.unwrap() * 110;
+	let current_sufficient  = current_channel  * 100 >=  scaled_min_inbound;
+	let candidate_sufficient = candidate_channel * 100 >= scaled_min_inbound;
+
+	if current_sufficient && candidate_sufficient {
+		return current_channel < candidate_channel
+	} else if current_sufficient {
+		return true
+	} else if candidate_sufficient {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	current_channel > candidate_channel
+}
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod test {
 	use core::time::Duration;
@@ -676,6 +720,33 @@ mod test {
 	use crate::utils::create_invoice_from_channelmanager_and_duration_since_epoch;
 	use std::collections::HashSet;
 
+	#[test]
+	fn test_prefer_current_channel() {
+		let test_cases = vec![
+			// No minimum, prefer larger candidate channel.
+			(None, 100, 200, false),
+			// No minimum, prefer larger current channel.
+			(None, 200, 100, true),
+			// Minimum set, prefer current channel over minimum + buffer.
+			(Some(100), 115, 100, true),
+			// Minimum set, prefer candidate channel over minimum + buffer.
+			(Some(100), 105, 125, false),
+			// Minimum set, both channels sufficient, prefer smaller current channel.
+			(Some(100), 115, 125, true),
+			// Minimum set, both channels sufficient, prefer smaller candidate channel.
+			(Some(100), 200, 160, false),
+			// Minimum set, neither sufficient, prefer larger current channel.
+			(Some(200), 100, 50, true),
+			// Minimum set, neither sufficient, prefer larger candidate channel.
+			(Some(200), 100, 150, false),
+		];
+
+		for test_case in test_cases {
+			assert_eq!(crate::utils::prefer_current_channel(test_case.0, test_case.1, test_case.2), test_case.3);
+		}
+	}
+
+
 	#[test]
 	fn test_from_channelmanager() {
 		let chanmon_cfgs = create_chanmon_cfgs(2);
@@ -891,17 +962,19 @@ mod test {
 	}
 
 	#[test]
-	fn test_hints_has_only_highest_inbound_capacity_channel() {
+	fn test_hints_has_only_lowest_inbound_capacity_channel_above_minimum() {
 		let chanmon_cfgs = create_chanmon_cfgs(2);
 		let node_cfgs = create_node_cfgs(2, &chanmon_cfgs);
 		let node_chanmgrs = create_node_chanmgrs(2, &node_cfgs, &[None, None]);
 		let nodes = create_network(2, &node_cfgs, &node_chanmgrs);
-		let _chan_1_0_low_inbound_capacity = create_unannounced_chan_between_nodes_with_value(&nodes, 1, 0, 100_000, 0);
-		let chan_1_0_high_inbound_capacity = create_unannounced_chan_between_nodes_with_value(&nodes, 1, 0, 10_000_000, 0);
-		let _chan_1_0_medium_inbound_capacity = create_unannounced_chan_between_nodes_with_value(&nodes, 1, 0, 1_000_000, 0);
+
+		let _chan_1_0_inbound_below_amt = create_unannounced_chan_between_nodes_with_value(&nodes, 1, 0, 10_000, 0);
+		let _chan_1_0_large_inbound_above_amt = create_unannounced_chan_between_nodes_with_value(&nodes, 1, 0, 500_000, 0);
+		let chan_1_0_low_inbound_above_amt = create_unannounced_chan_between_nodes_with_value(&nodes, 1, 0, 200_000, 0);
+
 		let mut scid_aliases = HashSet::new();
-		scid_aliases.insert(chan_1_0_high_inbound_capacity.0.short_channel_id_alias.unwrap());
-		match_invoice_routes(Some(5000), &nodes[0], scid_aliases);
+		scid_aliases.insert(chan_1_0_low_inbound_above_amt.0.short_channel_id_alias.unwrap());
+		match_invoice_routes(Some(100_000_000), &nodes[0], scid_aliases);
 	}
 
 	#[test]
@@ -1474,7 +1547,7 @@ mod test {
 
 	#[test]
 	#[cfg(feature = "std")]
-	fn test_multi_node_hints_has_only_highest_inbound_capacity_channel() {
+	fn test_multi_node_hints_has_only_lowest_inbound_channel_above_minimum() {
 		let mut chanmon_cfgs = create_chanmon_cfgs(3);
 		let seed_1 = [42u8; 32];
 		let seed_2 = [43u8; 32];
@@ -1485,17 +1558,17 @@ mod test {
 		let node_chanmgrs = create_node_chanmgrs(3, &node_cfgs, &[None, None, None]);
 		let nodes = create_network(3, &node_cfgs, &node_chanmgrs);
 
-		let _chan_0_1_low_inbound_capacity = create_unannounced_chan_between_nodes_with_value(&nodes, 0, 1, 100_000, 0);
-		let chan_0_1_high_inbound_capacity = create_unannounced_chan_between_nodes_with_value(&nodes, 0, 1, 10_000_000, 0);
-		let _chan_0_1_medium_inbound_capacity = create_unannounced_chan_between_nodes_with_value(&nodes, 0, 1, 1_000_000, 0);
+		let _chan_0_1_below_amt = create_unannounced_chan_between_nodes_with_value(&nodes, 0, 1, 100_000, 0);
+		let _chan_0_1_above_amt_high_inbound = create_unannounced_chan_between_nodes_with_value(&nodes, 0, 1, 500_000, 0);
+		let chan_0_1_above_amt_low_inbound = create_unannounced_chan_between_nodes_with_value(&nodes, 0, 1, 180_000, 0);
 		let chan_0_2 = create_unannounced_chan_between_nodes_with_value(&nodes, 0, 2, 100000, 10001);
 
 		let mut scid_aliases = HashSet::new();
-		scid_aliases.insert(chan_0_1_high_inbound_capacity.0.short_channel_id_alias.unwrap());
+		scid_aliases.insert(chan_0_1_above_amt_low_inbound.0.short_channel_id_alias.unwrap());
 		scid_aliases.insert(chan_0_2.0.short_channel_id_alias.unwrap());
 
 		match_multi_node_invoice_routes(
-			Some(10_000),
+			Some(100_000_000),
 			&nodes[1],
 			vec![&nodes[1], &nodes[2],],
 			scid_aliases,